PRESQUE ISLE — Area first responders and emergency service personnel will hold a city-wide parade today to welcome the 2013 Boston Red Sox World Series trophy into Aroostook County and express their support for ‘Boston Strong,’ a nationwide motto coined to honor the city after the Boston Marathon bombings in April 2013.
The event, followed by a public viewing at the Aroostook Centre Mall, is part of the 2014 IBU Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships official schedule, and will wrap up an exciting day of competition at the Nordic Heritage Sports Center.
The first responder’s parade is scheduled in downtown Presque Isle. The parade, which will usher into the city the Red Sox trophy, will begin at the University of Maine at Presque Isle at 6:30 p.m., travel north on Main Street and end at the Aroostook Centre Mall by 7 p.m.
After the parade, the Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series trophy reception, including a public viewing, will take place at the mall inside the area by the JC Penney store.
The Presque Isle Middle School jazz band is scheduled to perform “We Are The Champions” and other tunes at the reception, according to mall manager Patti Crooks. She said a group from Moondance Studios will also be performing and “Fireman Fred” Parsons will deliver his rendition of “Sweet Caroline,” which has become the unofficial Red Sox anthem and is sung during the seventh-inning stretch at every home game at Fenway Park.
Red Sox ambassadors Oscar Figueroa and John McDermott are accompanying the commissioner’s trophy, the emblematic award presented to the Red Sox team after their World Series victory last fall.
Any public safety officials are invited to bring their vehicles and join the procession starting at UMPI at 6:30 p.m.
The reception is planned in conjunction with a medal ceremony for the 2014 IBU Youth/Junior Biathlon World Championships, which will take place at the food court.
